Display bag and method of making the same



- Jan. 23, 1951 H. F. SHUMANN 2,533,920

DISPLAY BAG AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed NOV. 18, 1946 Hora/d F.Shaman/7 INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 23,1951

DISPLAY BAG AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Harold F. Shumann, Pittsburgh, Pa.Application November 18, 1946, Serial No. 710,628

THE

2 Claims.

It is an object of this invention to provide a display bag forcontaining nuts, popcorn and and will maintain this relationship whetherthe bag is in a horizontal or vertical position.

connection with the annexed drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective View 11- lustrating the method ofmaking improved bags.

Fig. 2 is a partial plan showing the rear wall of a completed bag.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modifiedconstruction, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the finished bag cut away to illustrateparticularly the bottom construction.

For the purpose of this disclosure the term. transparent materialincludes not only such truly transparent material as heat sealingcellophane but any heat sealable sheet material which is Sufiicientlytransparent to permit inspection of the contents through a single ply ofthe material. This includes numerous synthetic films and laminated orcoated heat sealable glassine sheets. The films, however, need not beheat sealable since this invention, at least in its article aspect, doesnot require the heat sealing property. From the standpoint ofmanufacture, however, heat sealing is greatly to be preferred.

When nut meats or other small confections are sold in small individualpackages, it is desirable that the contents of the package be spread outin a relatively thin, even layer so that, so far as pos- In the case ofa bag formed of all flexible material, however, such display packaginghas not been satisfactory for the reason that once the package isremoved from the horizontal plane to any approximately verticalposition, the contents tends to slide into a thick, compact pile in thebottom of the bag. This distorts the package, adversely affecting itsappearance and largely nullifying its display value.

The prior art has recognized this defect and has sought to overcome itby the addition of stiffening members inserted between the plies of thedisplay bag or otherwise secured to the bag. .Such stiffening members,however, add greatly to the cost of the package which, after all, mustbe used almost entirely in the low pric retail field where packagingcost bears heavily as a matter of percentage against the packers sellingprice of the filled package.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a mandrel I 0 around whichis formed a tube l2 having a front wall I4 and a rear wall It. The rearwall It contains a longitudinal seam l8. At the forward end of themandrel l0 a portion M of the front wall 14 and a portion iii of therear wall l6 are folded over the end of the mandrel I0 to lie againstthe rear wall It. The details of machines capable of forming bags inthis manner are no part of the present invention, but it may bementioned that suitable devices of this type are disclosed in the U. S.Patent No. 2,346,- 191 to Schultz, dated April 11, 1944, and in U. S.Patent No. 2,192,527 to Corcoran, dated March 5, 1940.

The mandrel H] has formed in its upper surface in contact with the rearwall It a plurality of corrugations 20. It will be understood that themandrel it receives suitable vertical support under the front wall M. Aheat bar 22 lies above the rear wall It and has in its adjacent facecorrugations 24 arranged to mate with the corrugations 26 in the mandrelIt]. When heat bar 22 is pressed against the rear wall i6, corrugations26 (Fig. 2) are formed by the coaction of the grooves 20 of the mandrell6 and the grooves 24 of the not bar 22. These corrugations are alsoformed in the longitudinal seam l8 and in the folded over closure [4 andI 5. At the same time the seam i8 is sealed the portion I5 is sealed tothe Wall l6 and the portion M is sealed to the portion I 6'.

When the heated bar 22 is withdrawn from contact with the wall 46 thefinished bag is drawn off of the mandrel Hi. It then has a corrugatedrear wall [6 and a plain front wall I4. The corrugations 26 on coolingwill be found to have acquired a permanent set which contributes to avery distinct stiffening of the rear wall l6 sufficient to hold the bagin flattened condition against any sliding of contents to the bottom ofthe bag when the filled bag is in a vertical position.

While grooves 20 have been illustrated in the mandrel I0, it will besuflicient for many materials to use a mandrel formed of felt or fiberboard and having a plane surface facing the rear bag wall 16. Under suchcircumstances, and

with a suitably chosen mandrel, the corrugations 24 of the hot bar 22will sufficiently impress themselves upon the material of the mandrel tosecure a corrugated effect on the rear bag wall to.

Fig. 4 illustrates a construction where still more stiffening of therear wall is required. In this case the bag has a plain front wall 30and a corrugated rear wall 32. The rear wall 32, however, throughout itsentire area is formed of two plies 34 and 36 which, in effect,constitute a longitudinal seam overlapped to the full width of the rearwall. This in turn supplies extra material in the end closure andfurther stiffens that por tion of the bag. 7

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that, from the standpoint ofthe article, the corrugations could be formed by theapplication ofstarch, glue, or other stiffening material to the rear wall followed bythe drying of such material while the rear wall is maintained in acorrugated condition. From the standpoint of manufacture, however, andas noted above, heat sealable material is greatly to be preferred.

While I have disclosed certain specific forms of the invention hereinfor purposes of illustration, it should be understood that many changesand modifications thereof can be inade without departing from the spiritof the invention as defined in the appended claims;

I claim:

1. A display bag formed from a single, integral sheet of at leasttranslucent, flexible heat sealable material, said bag having a frontwall and a rear wall, said rear wall containing a seam formed by heatsealing together overlapping margins of said sheet, an end of said bagincluding portions of said front and rear walls being folded upon andheat sealed to said rear wall, said front wall being opticallyuninterrupted to permit inspection of the contents, said rear wallincluding said seam, and said folded end portion being corrugated with aplurality of self-sustaining corrugations serving to hold said rear wallin substantially unchanged relationship to said front wall whether thefilled bag occupy a vertical or horizontal plane.

2'. A bag as set forth in claim 1 in which the overlap of the margins inthe rear wall is sufficient to make the entire rear wall of two plythickness.

HAROLD F. SI-IUMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

